Passion Sunday

“Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me;
weep instead for yourselves and for your children."
Luke 23:1-49

Once I was called to give anointing of the sick. I was led to a large room with many people. In the middle was a rocking chair. There was an old man there whose eyes were closed but who continued to turn left and right. He was suffering from cancer and he was dying. That is physical suffering.

A man was so fed up with his 18-yr. old son that he told him to leave the house (lumayas). And he did. When the father was calm and discovered that his son had left home, he regretted what he said. He was worried about his son and looked among his friends. That is mental suffering.

At one point in his life, St. Francis de Sales, our patron Saint, could not shake off the fear that he was going to hell. That is spiritual suffering.

Once in my theology class among engineering students, a student raised his hand and asked: “If there is a God, why is there suffering in the world?” It is as if God is the cause of suffering. If we open the book of Genesis, we discover that suffering only entered the world when man sinned.

And if we ask, “What is God doing about it?” we are asking the wrong question. The question we should ask is, “What are we doing about it?” For many of our sufferings come from us or our fellowmen. That old man was suffering from lung cancer because he smoked. If you don’t want to get cancer, don’t smoke. The town of Ormoc was buried in mud because of illegal logging. If we don’t want disasters of that kind to happen, we have to stop illegal logging. We have to act not God.

If we open the book of Job in the Old Testament, we are faced with another question: “Why do good people suffer?” The book had no answer. It just said: “We don’t know why good people suffer. We just have to keep trusting in God.” God will not lead you where his grace can not keep you. St. Paul who was suffering from an painful illness was told by God: “My grace is enough for you.” We just have to keep on trusting in God.

Can anything good come out of suffering? Christopher Reeve suffered from a bad fall and he became a paraplegic. He championed the cause for more funding to find a cure for spinal injury.

Tony Meloto came from a poor family. A scholarship from Ateneo enabled him to finish schooling and get a good job and became rich. Now he has resigned from his job and went full-time to Gawad Kalinga. Gawad Kalinga seeks to build 700,000 homes in 70 communities in 7 years. His experience of poverty made him now give himself to alleviating the poverty of others.

Jesus suffered and died on the cross. And what good did it do? It opened the gates of heaven for us again.

When Jesus met the women of Jerusalem who were weeping for him, he told them: “Daughters of Jerusalem do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children.” In other words, Jesus is telling us not to be sorry for him. Instead we should be sorry for our sins. For if we remain in our sins, his suffering and death would not do us any good. Masasayang lang ang kanyang kamatayan para sa atin.

Fifth Sunday in Lent (C)

“Neither do I condemn you.Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”
Jn 8:1-11

Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle.

Adultery is not a minor offence. It is a great evil. In fact, in the Old Testament, the infidelity of Israel against God was called adultery in order to show how big a sin it was. While we can readily admit that we are sinners, we can claim that we are not big sinners like that woman. And maybe it’s true. We have not committed adultery. We have not killed anyone. And yet we are perhaps unaware that we do have the capacity to commit such grave sins if we just find ourselves in a given situation.

A Saint saw a man being led to execution. He thought to himself: “There go I but for the grace of God.” That is, if not for the grace of God, he could have also become like that criminal being led to his death.

And it is precisely because we are capable of doing great evil that we can not place ourselves in the occasion of sin. I was working in a depressed area in Mandaluyong on weekends. I met a man who was working at the customs. I was happy to hear that he wasn’t involved in corruption and I congratulated him for that. He was honest enough to tell me that he was never involved in corruption because there was never an opportunity. He was just rank and file.

Given the opportunity we can fall into temptation and commit grave sin. It is, therefore, common sense to avoid the occasions of sin.

Take note that the woman was caught in adultery. She was caught in the act. We have to comment on two things here. First, why is it that only the woman was to be punished? Where was the man? There is injustice here. Why is the Philippines so corrupt? Because justice is not consistently upheld in the Philippines. Japan has sent at least two former prime ministers to jail. Has any ex-president in the Philippines ever gone to jail? How many poor people are in jail? How many rich and influential people are in jail?

The second is how we raise our children. While we have to take into consideration the differences in gender and in age, in important matters what we demand from our girls, we must demand from our boys as well. It is not right that girls are given responsibilities at home while the boys are given none. In my opinion, it is not right for parents to forbid their girls certain things because “may mawawala sa iyo” and allow their boys certain things because “wala namang mawawala sa iyo”.

The woman was told to stand in the middle. They wanted to put her to shame. How often we use shame to punish? But the consequences can be devastating. Can we justify a teacher telling a student in class: “Hoy, makinig ka. Ang bobo-bobo mo na nga e hindi ka pa nakikinig.”

When I was principal, when I had to scold the fourth year students during morning assembly, I would tell everyone to go up the classroom and let the seniors remain. Only then would I scold them. I was told by the APSA that the seniors appreciated that.

A father told me that when he had to scold their eldest son, he would call him to their room and give him the scolding. The father didn’t want his son to be embarrassed in front of his younger siblings.

“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

Jesus saved the woman from death. The Church today is against capital punishment. Life is sacred, even that of the criminal. There are some who say that killing criminals is a way of deterring crime. But studies show that what deters crime is when justice is carried out swiftly and consistently. When people see that criminals are caught, when trials do not go on for years and years, when the guilty no matter who they may be are punished, these deter crime. Why do the people in the United States pay the right taxes? Because the citizens know that the IRS is serious about sending tax evaders to jail.

Punishment should not be vindictive. Killing a criminal is vindictive. Instead, punishment must rehabilitate the criminal. We must give the guilty a chance to redeem himself. When I was principal, I made it a point that a boy who commits an offence should do something good in order to make up for the offence he has committed. His negative deed should be erased by his positive deed. The APSA would ask the boy what good deed he can do in the school to erase his offence. The word punishment was not used. I remember one case of a boy who volunteered to replant all the flower boxes in the Dona Cecilia building. He did that on a Saturday. And he did a good job. On Monday during the morning assembly, I publicly acknowledged the good work he did without mentioning anything about his offence. Is this a good way of helping a boy to be better? You bet.

A PS. Don’t ever punish when you are angry. When you are angry and you pun-ish, more often than not your punishment will hurt rather than help.

We might think that Jesus was being too soft on the woman. But no. He takes her sin seriously. That is why he told her: “From now on do not sin anymore.” Dur-ing this Lenten season God calls on us to repent. He also asks of us: “From now on do not sin anymore.”

Third Sunday in Lent (C)

But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!

Lk 13:1-9

Some people who were present there told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingles with the blood of their sacrifices.

Is Pilate capable of killing people? Josephus, a Jewish historian, wrote in his book “Antiquities” two incidents of mass murder. He killed the Samaritans who were at Mt. Gerizim for a religious gathering. On another occasion he killed those Jews who objected to his using Temple money to build an aqueduct in Jerusalem.

Lessons

1. Not all tragedies and misfortunes are punishment due to sin. In fact, bad things can happen to good people.

• A long time ago a student asked me this question: We are involved in our Parish. My father is a lay minister. My mother is a Mother Butler. Why did God allow our house to be broken into?
Why can bad things happen to good people?

• Job suffered one misfortune after another. He lost his property and became poor. He lost his children. He suffered boils all over his body. His friends who came to condole said that he was probably being punished for his sins. But Job said that it was not so. He tried to be faithful to God. So why was he being punished? The answer of the book to the question: “Why do bad things happen to good people.“ was “We don’t know. We just have to keep trusting in God.” And in fact, because of his trust God restored to him his health and his wealth. His wife gave birth to other children.

2. Hell

• Is there hell? Yes. But it is not a place. Heaven is not also a place. Souls are spirits and spirits do not occupy space. Instead it is state of being (katayuan).

• Is there fire in hell? Probably not. The gospel speaks of the fire of hell because among the Jews used Gehenna to describe hell. Gehenna is the place outside the walls of Jerusalem where the garbage of the city was dumped. There garbage was burning day and night.

• Is hell a torture chamber? Bad people are being tortured by the devils. Certainly not. That is the product of the imagination of some people. But hell is really punishment. But what kind of punishment? We do not know.

• Does God sent people to hell? Some theologians say that it is actually people who send themselves to hell. Hell is being separated from God. It is not God who separates himself from us. It is we who separate ourselves from God.

Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future.

Jesus has been preaching repentance and inviting his countrymen to enter the Kingdom of God. But the majority have not accepted his preaching. Yet God remains patient. When Jesus was not accepted by a Samaritan village, James and John asked Jesus whether they can call fire from heaven to destroy that village. Jesus scolded them.

Lessons

1. Why is God patient with us? Because God doesn’t want anyone of us to go to hell. He wants all of us to be with him in heaven. God loves us so much. Would any parent want anything bad to happen to his/her children? Of course not. Why? Because you love your children.

There is a painting that to me illustrates best God’s patience with us. It is called Light of the World. Jesus is holding a lantern. He is outside the door. The door has no knob. It can only be opened from the inside. He is knocking. He will not leave. He keeps on knocking. He will wait even forever for us to open the door of our heart to him. For the door is the symbol of our heart. This Lenten season is not just about going to confession and being converted. It is about welcoming God into our hearts.

2. If we are to become patient, we must know how to wait. We must know how to hope. To hope means not to give up.

Francis Kong told us that he was a top-notch student in college. But you wouldn’t believe that if you knew him in high school. Because he was irresponsible in high school, he took him 6 years to finally graduate. His parents did not give up on him. His conversion came when one day he finally came to his senses. He realized he was the eldest. His parents were depending on him. His siblings were looking up to him. His parents were working to send him to school. And all he did was to enjoy himself and give them suffering. His parents did not give up on him. Their patience paid off.

3. If we are being asked to be patient with others we have to be patient with our-selves. If God is patient with us, we don’t have the right to give up on ourselves.

Who invented the light bulb? Thomas Alba Edison. He is also the founder of GE, General Electric. How many times did he fail before finally got it right? 12,000! He could have said: “It’s no use.” He could have said: “I’m no good.” He never gave up on himself. He never gave up on the project. And because of that we have the light bulb.

Conclusion

1. When bad things happen to you, hold on. Keep trusting in God.
2. There is hell. But God doesn’t want us to end up there.
3. God keeps knocking at the door of our hearts. Maybe it’s now time to open up.
4. God is patient with us. Let us learn to be patient, not only with others but also with ourselves.

Second Sunday in Lent (C)

THE TRANSFIGURATION
This is my chosen Son; listen to him.
LK 9: 28-36

About eight days after he said this...

The transfiguration happened about a week after he said this. What did he say? He said two important things. The first was a prediction of his passion and his resurrection: "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised." The second was the condition to discipleship: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
The transfiguration it seems was meant to prepare them (palakasin ang loob) when his prediction of his passion and death started to be fulfilled and also to give them an idea of the reward awaiting those who follow him.

Jesus went up the mountain to pray.

In St. Luke’s gospel more than in the other gospels, Jesus is often portrayed in prayer. Why mountain? Because in the bible the mountain is often the place where God meets man.

While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.

For a moment the three apostles were given a glimpse of the divinity of Jesus.

And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.

Moses represented the Law; Elijah the Prophets. Both of them represented the Old Testament. In fact the Jews when referring to what we call the Old Testament used the term: “the Law and the Prophets”.

They also appeared in glory. But this glory is the glory of people in heaven.

The exodus referred to is the death of Jesus. In fact, Jesus was brought outside the walls of Jerusalem and crucified at Golgotha.

Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents.

Do they want to put up tents because they wanted to remain there and enjoy the vision?
Or is Peter referring to the joy they were experiencing as they beheld the vision? The feast of tabernacles (or feast of tents) was the feast celebrated at harvest time. During the harvest time people lived in tents in the fields. It was a joyful time of the year precisely because of the harvest. The feast of the tabernacles came to be associated with joy as we associate Christmas with joy.

While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them.

In the OT the cloud signified the presence of God. For example, when God would meet Moses at the Tent of Meeting, it would be covered by a cloud.

Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”

The voice was the voice of the Father. The first time he said this was at the Baptism of Jesus. And with his Baptism began his public ministry. Now at the Transfiguration, the Father repeats what he said at his Baptism. And with the Transfiguration, Jesus begins his journey to Jerusalem where his passion and death will take place.

Listen to him would mean accept his teachings. But I think the Father is also telling the three apostles to pay attention to Jesus when he speaks of his passion, and death so that their faith won’t be shaken when it comes true.. In fact, Jesus predicted his Passion, death and resurrection three times. Unfortunately, they weren’t listening and so when it came to pass, their faith crumbled and they abandoned him.

Advisory

I will be away for a month. I will resume Sunday Reflections in March.

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
Lk 4:21-30

And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”

The comment "Isn't this the son of Joseph?" served to throw cold water on the enthusiasm of the crowd in the synagogue. For in that statement, they belittled Jesus. It was as if they were saying: "Who does he think he is? He is ONLY the son of a carpenter." They were cutting him down to size. This initial arrogance will turn into a murderous rage at the end when they attempted to throw him over the cliff.

Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.

I sense here a feeling of hurt and anger. Nazareth was his home. They and not the people of Capernaum should have been the first witnesses of his miracles. Jesus indeed grew up in Nazareth but it was Capernaum which he made into a sort of headquarters for his ministry.

They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.

What made the people in the synagogue so angry that they wanted to murder Jesus? Why did they find the mention of Elisha coming to the aid of a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon and to no one else so offensive? Why did they find it intolerable for Jesus to assert that only Naaman the Syrian and no one else did Elisha cure of leprosy?

We have to examine the Jewish mentality in order to explain this violent reaction of his fellow villagers. In the mind of the Jews, being the Chosen People meant that they and they alone were loved by God. For them the gentiles (non-Jews) were created to go to hell. With this background it is easy to explain why his fellow villagers became enraged.

The widow of Zarephath lived in Sidon. She was a gentile. And she--and not a Jew--was the lone beneficiary of Elijah's kindness. This the people in the synagogue could not accept.

And as if to fan the flame into a conflagration, Jesus continued by observing that Elisha did not cure any Jewish leper. In fact he cured only one leper and it was the gentile Naaman.

I don't think that Jesus was disputing the special place of the Jews as God's Chosen People. What he was pointing out was that the Jews were not the exclusive recipients of God's love. God loves everybody.

The Jews who rightly claims to be the Chosen People developed a wrong mentality. They carried with them a superiority complex that expressed itself in pride and arrogance.

SUPERIORITY COMPLEX

I was told that a certain actress who is "married" to a man from a wealthy clan went to one of the elegant buildings along Ayala Ave. She was going to take an elevator. Another woman wanted to take that elevator. This actress instructed her bodyguards to tell that woman to take another elevator as she wanted to take that elevator for herself. The woman--very understandably--blew her top. She identified herself as the owner of the building. She called security and had her and her bodyguards thrown out of her building, but not before telling her to never set foot on her building again.

Perhaps this actress, because she was now "married" to a very rich person, thought she has acquired a superior status and therefore, had the right to be arrogant.

Superiority complex has done so much harm to mankind.

The Nazis considered themselves a superior race and killed not only 6 million Jews but others classes of people they considered defective.

The Japanese have not been very open in the books they use in school about the atrocities their military have committed in World War II. Some have attributed this to their attitude towards us as inferior to them.

On the other hand, there are people who in spite of their status have avoided becoming arrogant. Instead they have learned to treat people with respect.

Consider Jaime Augusto Ayala de Zobel, known as JAZA. I was invited to one of the fine hotels in Makati for a function related to education. The President was expected to come and address the assembly and inaugurate a project. She did come. But because of another appointment she had to leave after her speech and after inaugurating the project. JAZA was one of the big shots who was present. After she had left, JAZA went to our table and asked: "May I sit with you?" He was rich but not arrogant. He was a fine gentleman--polite, well-mannered. No air of superiority. No trace of arrogance.

Consider Masay (I don't remember if this is her correct name.) Yulo, second wife of Jose Yulo, Sr. After the Mass on the 40th day after the death of Jose Yulo Sr., we were invited for dinner. After enjoying the main meal, I went for dessert. It so happened that Mrs. Masay Yulo and I wanted to take the same dessert. Perhaps because I was younger and faster I was able to get the fork ahead of her. I realized too late what I had done. She could have been annoyed. But I saw nothing of that sort on her face. She simply smiled and made a motion telling me to go ahead and get the dessert. I put down the fork and motioned to her to please go ahead and I will get mine after her. She was rich but not arrogant.

On this Sunday the Gospel provides us with an ugly picture of what arrogance and pride can do--the people in the synagogue were willing to kill Jesus because he went against their idea of the Jewish People as being the exclusive object of God's love.

Jesus insists that we take on the mindset that we are all God's children. We are brothers and sisters. With that mindset we shall treat each other with respect. And when there is respect, there is harmony and peace.

Sto. Nino

Sto. Nino (Proper to the Philippines)

History

The Feast of the Sto. Nino is a feast proper to the Philippines, meaning that it is celebrated only in the Philippines. It is special to the Philippines because it is connected to the history of our country.

On March 16, 1521 Magellan was the first European to set foot on the Philippines. On April 14 he arrived in Cebu and there converted Rajah Humabon and his wife Queen Juana as well as their 800 people. After the baptism, Magellan gave Queen Juana a gift, the statue of the Sto. Nino. What Queen Juana did was to put the statue where there used to be the idols that they worshipped.

Today the Sto. Nino is enshrined in the minor Basilica of the Sto. Nino. And every third Sunday of January the Sto. Nino is honored with a festival that is called Sinulog.

Theological Reflection

Douglas Elwood and Patricia Magdamo wrote a book in 1970, Christ in the Philippine Context. They observed that two favorite images of Filipinos are the Sto. Nino and the Santo Entierro. The first is the child Christ and the second is the Dead Christ. And they asked: “What does this say about Filipino Catholics?” We forgot about the adult Christ. And our faith has remained immature and infantile.

I have my own interpretation. I think that the Sto. Nino is dear to us because we love children. We are also devoted to the Santo Entierro and to the Poon Nazareno for that matter because we can relate to the suffering Christ. We are after all living in a third world country where economic hardship is a fact of daily life. And because Jesus knows what suffering means, he is able to sympathize with us. Consequently, we find it so natural to approach the Santo Entierro and the Poon Nazareno in the midst of life's challenges.

Folk Religiosity

A few nights ago I happened to see on TV a documentary on a medium who claims to receive messages from the Sto. Nino. The clips showed the Sto. Nino rocking sideways. Of course, the medium was touching the base of the statue. In the past we have heard news of a dancing Sto. Nino. More common is the news of people whose voice changes because the Sto. Nino is said to speak through him. We have reason to question the authenticity of these claims.

There are the Sto. Nino de Cebu and the Infant Jesus of Prague. But do you know that there is such a thing as Sto. Nino de la Swerte? He is clothed in green (the normal color is red.). He is holding a pouch containing coins. This Sto. Nino is supposed to bring good luck (swerte). Who invented this Sto. Nino, I do not know.

Here is the case for the need for a solid grounding in the Catholic Faith. For unless there is sufficient grounding we would expect aberrations such as these to continue.

Child-like Not Childish (Tulad ng Bata, Hindi Isip-Bata)

Jesus said that unless we change and become like little children, we can not enter the Kingdom of God. He also said that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to people who are like them. Obviously, Jesus is thinking of specific characteristics we associate with children.

I should like to think that dependence on God is one of them. Now I do not mean to say that we leave everything to God and nothing to ourselves. The saying "Nasa Diyos ang awa. Nasa tao ang gawa" (We rely on God's mercy but we still have to work.) holds true.

Scriptures remind us that unless the Lord builds the house they labor in vain who build it. I should like to think that this expresses what dependence on God mean. To illustrate, in our church people offer Masses for a variety of intentions. One intention would be passing the board exams. Another would be healing. Still another would be a blessing on one's birthday. We express our dependence on God by invoking his blessing and asking for his help.

Conclusion

After I read the life of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, I immediately liked her. I mean I was able to relate with her. Hers was a spirituality that was so simple and unencumbered. She taught me the spiritual life and all our life for that matter is letting God and letting go. She painted an image of her child-like spirituality as God coming down the staircase and carrying you in his arms bringing you up the same staircase. I altered it a bit since I could not relate to the image of being picked up like a child. This is how I see it: God comes down the staircase. He takes me by the arm and together we climb the stairs.

As long as we need God, there will be a place for him in our life. Woe to us if we outgrow the need for God. There will be no place for him in our life.

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee.
Jn 2:1-11

The mother of Jesus was there.

Interestingly Mary is referred to either as 'woman' or mother of Jesus in the Gospel of John. She is never named.

“Woman, how does your concern affect me?"

While woman in the context of Jewish culture is a polite form of address, there is no indication that it was used with reference to one's mother. However, does John use it here in order to allude to Mary as the new Eve? As Eve's disobedience led to mankind's fall from grace so now the new Eve's obedience led to mankind's return to grace.

In the NT this expression was used by demons to Jesus. In the OT it expresses either hostility or lack of common interest.

Perhaps Jesus did not want to work miracles for family and friends.

My hour has not yet come.

The hour of Jesus was his passion, death, resurrection and ascension.

Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons.

That is a lot of water which will be turned into wine. The abundance of wine is associated with the last days or the end time.

Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory.

In John the miracles of Jesus are called signs. John relates seven signs and this is the first. These miracles are called signs because they point to Jesus as the Messiah.

In the Exodus event, the wondrous deeds performed by Yahweh for his people were called signs. So also the miracles performed by Jesus are to be seen also as God's intervention on behalf of his people.

MARRIAGE

Let's talk about marriage.

What do you think about the following statements? Agree or disagree?

• A woman has the last word in any argument.
• Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

• A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
• A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, and she does.

• Married men live longer than single men do, but married men are a lot more willing to die.

• A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
• A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.
  

In the United States for every 10 marriages, 5 end up in divorce. They asked those whose marriage endured what their secret was. The answer was not at all unexpected. They said that at the very start they made divorce a non-option. Consequently, when difficulties come that try their marriage, they were forced to work on it.

Another study was the reasons for divorce. The number one reason is? Yes, it's money. When I asked couples here in the Philippines what was the number one cause of quarrels, the answer was the same--money. Before getting married, the couple should have already discussed and agreed on the ground rules regarding money, raising children, career, etc. And later they should learn how to talk things over.

Will Smith of Men In Black fame was interviewed by Reader's Digest. These are his thoughts about marriage.

Q: You and Jada have been married nine years and, by all accounts, are very happy. What's the key?
WS: Communication. And divorce cannot be an option.

Q: Your first marriage ended in divorce.
WS: That is probably the most painful loss of my life. I quit. I could have fixed it. It really was not that bad.

Q: Some would say there's no reason to stay if a marriage isn't good.
WS: Once you say that, you've lost. With Jada, I stood up in front of God and my family and friends and said, ''Till death do us part.'' So there are two possible outcomes: We are going to be together till death, or I am dead.

A long time ago this was what we were told about marriage: Marriage is not like taking rice into your mouth and finding out it's hot you then proceed to vomit it out of your mouth. Marriage was and still is about commitment. For this reason every year on the occasion of one's wedding anniversary it is a good practice for husband and wife to come before the altar of God, not only to renew their wedding vows but also to ask God for the grace to be faithful to those vows.

Epiphany (C)

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem.

Mt 2:1-12

GOSPEL TEXT

Herod

The Great. He deserved the title. He was the only king who was able to bring peace and order in Palestine. He was the builder of the Temple in Jerusalem.

He could be compassionate. During the famine of 25 BC he melted his golden plate so as to be able to buy corn for the starving people.

But he could be savage. He murdered his wife and her mother. He had 3 of his sons assasinated. Near death he had distinguished citizens of Jerusalem arrested on trumped up charges. He ordered that at his death, they would be executed. Why? So that at his death, tears would be shed, even if it were not for him. We should not be surprised therefore at the killing of the Holy Innocents.

Wise Men

Or magi. Or astrologers. Pantas. No number is given. But since there were three gifts, it was assumed that they were three. They even have names and the gifts were assigned to each: Melchor (old man) (gold), Gaspar (young man) (frankincense) and Baltazar (black complexion) (myrrh).

They are called astrologers because they studied the heavens not for science (otherwise, they would be called astronomers) but because of the the belief that the stars could foretell the future.

They are Medes and recognized as belonging to a priestly tribe in the empire of Persia. They were like the Levites in Israel.

Star

Tala. The star was moving that is why some were of the opinion that the star of Bethlehem was either a comet or the result of the conjunction of planets.

The parol symbolizes that star of Bethlehem.

When you go down to the crypt of the Church of the Nativity, you will find there a big silver star on the floor. That star is in memory of the star that guided the Magi.

Disturbed

Naligalig. Herod was disturbed because the child represented a threat to his throne. Jerusalem was disturbed because they knew Herod would not take that threat sitting down. Something unpleasant was bound to happen. It did with the slaughter of the innocents.

Prophet

The prophecy was made by the prophet Micah.

Secretly

Lihim. Herod was planning murder and he didn’t want the people to get wind of it.

House

There is no longer any mention of a stable. Perhaps, the census was over and people left and so now there was place for them.

Prostrated

Adored. They recognized God’s presence in the baby.

Gifts

Gold for the King. Frankincense (insenso) for God. Myrrh (mapait na inumin) for suffering; or (for embalming) for death.

Dream

Panag-inip. God communicates through dreams. God through an angel communicated to Joseph in a dream to take Mary as his wife, that is, go through with the wedding. Later God again in a dream commanded him through an angel to escape to Egypt with Mary and Jesus.

THE FEAST

This Solemnity is commonly called Three Kings. But this is incorrect. For two reasons. First, they are not kings. And second, this is not about the magi. It is about Jesus.

The correct name is Epiphany = manifestation = pagpapakita. In this solemnity Jesus manifested himself as the Savior also of the Gentiles, represented by the magi. In other words, Jesus is the savior of all, Jews and Gentiles alike.

This is not only the instance when Jesus manifested himself. There is a second instance. His baptism. In that event, the Father proclaimed Jesus as: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him.”

Holy Family (C)

Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?
(Lk 2:41-52)

They went up according to festival custom.
The whole family--three of them--practiced their religion. It reminds me of Fr. Patrick Peyton's belief: "The family that prays together stays together."

When his parents saw him, they were astonished.
The natural reaction would be relief mixed with anger. But why were they astonished? What they saw was unexpected. A twelve-year old boy was in the Temple and in the midst of the big shots. And it seemed that he was at home with them even though he was only twelve.

Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?
With that question, Mary and Joseph knew that Jesus knew that he (Joseph) was not his father. And with that question, too, he was making a bold assertion--God was his Father.

His mother kept all these things in her heart.
What she and Joseph witnessed was part of the mystery surrounding Jesus. Mary took this event too as part of her reflection to understand Jesus and what was to become of him.

And Jesus advanced in wisdom.
Jesus was truly God. But he was truly human, too. He had to go through the process of intellectual growth.

With the finding of Jesus in the Temple, the infancy narrative ends. The next episode that the Gospel relates happened 18 years later with the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus.

STORY

Here is a cute story about what our families are called to be.

In the heart of a valley of fields, woods and meadows there lived a happy little family in a small two-storied house. There were three of them at the time: the mother and father, and a fair-haired six year old little boy. The father worked in a factory making water-taps, the mother cultivated the orchard behind the house and kept a stern eye on twelve fussy hens and a domineering rooster. The child was happy to be able to go to school, and proud that he could already write his name. He also new what "exuberant" meant.

Through the centre of the valley a bubbling stream wound its way.

The house was in a rather isolated spot and so on Sundays the small family would squeeze itself into a tiny car and go to Mass in the parish church. Afterwards they consumed ice cream or drank hot chocolate, according to the season.

In the evening the little house was always in a mild state of turmoil, because when it was the child's bedtime there was always something he wanted to do, like counting the stars or the glowworms, or how many little squares there were on the tablecloth.

Before going to sleep they all prayed together, and every night an angel of the Lord collected their prayers and took them to heaven.

One autumn it rained for days on end and the stream became swollen with dirty water Higher up, mud and tree-trunks combined to form a dam, which led in turn to the formation of a muddy lake. As darkness fell, the dam gave way under the pressure of the water, and the valley began to be flooded.

The father awoke mother and child. They clung to each other in terror because the water had already invaded the ground floor of the little house and was steadily rising and getting darker

"Up to the roof!", cried Father He took the boy, clinging silently about his neck with eyes full of fear, and climbed up into the attic and then on to the roof Mother followed them.

On the roof they felt as through they were shipwrecked on an island which was growing steadily smaller, because the water continued to rise relentlessly and soon reached the father's knees.

Father got his feet firmly fixed on the roof, embraced the mother and said: "Take the child in your arms and get up onto my shoulders"!

Mother and child climbed up onto the father's shoulders, as he said: "Put your feet on my shoulders and the boy's on your own. Don't be afraid. Whatever happens I will not leave you!"

The mother kissed the child and said: "Climb up onto my shoulders and don't be afraid. Whatever happens I will not leave you!"

The water went on rising. It covered the father, with his arms stretched out holding the mother, and then swallowed up the mother with her arms stretched out holding the child. But the father did not loosen his grip and neither did the mother, but the water went on rising. It reached the child's mouth, his eyes, his forehead.

The angel of the Lord, who had come to collect their evening prayers, saw only a mop of fair hair on the surface of the dark water

He swiftly grasped the mop of hair and pulled. Behind the hair came up the child, and attached to the child came up the mother, and holding on to the mother came up the father Neither had lost their grip.

The angel flew off and gently deposited the singular chain on a higher hill, where the water would never reach. Father, mother and child tumbled onto the grass and then hugged each other amid tears and laughter.

Instead of their prayers that evening, the angel took back to heaven their love. And all the choirs of heaven broke out into thunderous applause.

Christmas (C)

I am sorry but I had no time to translate this into English.



May di inaasahang liham na dumating sa pamilya ni Angelo Relon. Ito ay gating sa Amerika. Sino naman kaya ang kakilala nila sa Amerika? Dali-daling binuksan ng buong pamilya ang sulat. Mas lalong nabigla sila sa nilalaman nito. Gating ito kay Kristina Relon, isang kamag-anak daw nila. Ang kanyang pamilya ay pumunta daw sa Amerika bago pa sumiklab ang Ikalawang Pangmundong Digmaan. Doon na nagka-asawa ang kanyang lolo. Ngayon ibig niyang madalaw ang lupa ng kanyang mga ninuno. Darating siya sa susunod na buwan, at nagpapasundo siya sa airport.

Tuwang-tuwa ang buong pamilyang Relon. May kana pala silang kamag-anak sa Amerika. Ano kaya ang kanyang mukha? Siguro matangkad siya at dilaw ang kanyang buhok. Siguro matangos ang kanyang ilong at hugis Coca-cola ang kanyang katawan, tulad ng mga artista na nakikita sa mga sineng Ingles.

Paano kaya siya darating? Siguro siya ay may bag na malaki. Siguro siya ay nakabestidang maganda at nakasapatos pa ng mataas ang takong. Nag-iimagine na ang buong pamilya sa kanilang kamag-anak na Kana.

Ano kaya ang itatawag nila sa kanya? Tita? Auntie? Mommy? Isang buwan din nilang pinag-usapan ang mga tanong na ito.

Sa wakas dumating ang takdang araw. Maaga pa ay nasa airport na ang buong pamilya. Para makilala ay gumawa sila ng malaking karatula na may nakasulat na "Welcome Home, Kristina Relon!"

Marunong pa kaya siyang managalog? Baka maubusan sila ng Ingles. Hanggang sa airport ay mainit pa nilang pinagtatalunan ang mga tanong na ito.

Dumating na ang eroplano, lumabas ang mga pasahero. Humaba ang leeg ni Angelo at ng kanyang mga anak-humahanap ng matangkad, maputi, at may dilaw na buhok na may dalang malaking maleta. Isa-isang dumaan ang mga pasahero; wala silang nakita. May dumating na teenager, may dalang knapsack, pandak, naka-tsinelas, pango ang ilong. Kumaway sa kanila, binati sila, ngunit hindi nila pinansin, tumayo lang ito sa tabi nila.

Noong nakaraan na ang lahat ng pasahero, malungkot na tiniklop ng pamilyang Relon ang kanilang karatula.

Lumapit uli ang teenager at nagpakilala sa Tagalog na siya si Kristina Relon. Hindi siya pinansin, hindi siya ang Kristinang inaasahan nila. Pandak lang siya, itim ang kanyang buhok, nagta-Tagalog siya. Hindi maaari! Dapat iba siya! Kaya umalis sila na iniwan sa airport ang bisitang kamaganak na kanilang dapat salubungin. (Bishop Pabillo)

Ang karanasan ni Kristina Relon ay naging karanasan din ni JesuCristo. Ayon sa ebanghelyo ni San Juan: “Nasa sanlibutan ang Salita. Nilikha ang sanlibutan sa pamamagitan niya ngunit hindi siya nakilala ng sanlibutan. Naparito siya sa kanyang bayan ngunit hindi siya tinanggap.”

Sa Paskong ito nawa'y matagpuan ni Kristo ang puso natin na handang tumanggap sa kanya.

Fourth Sunday of Advent (C)

I came across this letter from Mary to Joseph. I don't remember anymore where I got it but let me share it with you. It will be Christmas tonight. It would be a pity if Christ would not be in our Christmas.

Mary had a terrible dream. She wrote to tell Joseph about it. This is her letter.

Dear Joseph,

I had a dream. I don't understand it, but I think it was about a birthday celebration for Jesus, our Son.

The people in my dream had been preparing for about six weeks. They had decorated the house and bought new clothes. They'd gone shopping many times and bought many elaborate gifts.

It was peculiar though, because the presents weren't for our son. They wrapped them in beautiful paper and stacked them under a tree. Yes, a tree, Joseph, right inside their homes! They'd decorated the tree with sparkling ornaments and blinking lights. There was even a figure like an angel on top of the tree.

Everyone was laughing and happy. They gave gifts to each other, Joseph, but not to our son. I don't think they even knew him. They never mentioned his name.

I had the strangest of feeling that, if our Jesus had gone to this celebration, he would have been intruding. How sad for someone not to be wanted at his own birthday party! I'm glad it was only a dream, Joseph. How terrible if it had been real!

Love,

Mary

Third Sunday of Advent (C)

Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!

Phil 4:4-7

INTRODUCTION

There are people who say that if you want to be good, you have to ready to be unhappy. Why? Because there are a lot of things that you can not do. In fact, if you look at the Ten Commandments, almost all of them begin with the words “You shall not….” Only the third and the fourth commandments are not prohibitions.

This reminded me of a woman who was taking care of her sickly mother. The doctor had a long list of food that she can not eat. One day her mother got fed up because she could not eat lechon (roasted pig). It has a high cholesterol content. So she blurted out, “Never mind. Let me eat lechon. Even if I die, I will die happy.”

So some people say, “Don’t mind the prohibitions. Do it even if it is sinful. Even if you go to hell, you will go to hell happy.”

SIN AND HAPPINESS

It is true that if you want to be close to God, there are many things that you should not do. It is true that you have to give up certain things. But is it really true that these things give you happiness? I would say that these things do not give us happiness. What they give us is pleasure. But pleasure is felt in the body, while happiness is felt in the heart. And even then the pleasure they give us do not last.

There might be pleasure in drinking to excess. But the pleasure do not last. In fact, it is followed by a big headache, by a hangover.

There might be pleasure in smoking. But the pleasure do not last forever. Sometime in future, you get cancer or emphysema. It’s no fun getting sick. It’s no fun spending a lot of money for hospitalization and medicine.

DON BOSCO AND HAPPINESS

Don Bosco knew that young people may be led to believe that being good means being unhappy. That was why when he wrote a book for youth, he wrote the following: “But some of you may argue: if we begin to serve God now, we shall be-come sad and depressed. I answer that this is not true. He who serves the devil is miserable, even if he pretends to be happy. Courage then, my dear friends, employ your time virtuously, and I assure you that your heart will always be happy and contented. You will experience as a consequence how sweet and pleasing it is to serve the Lord.”

This was why in the Oratory of Don Bosco it was common to hear the following quotes: “Serve the Lord with joy” and “Here holiness consists in being cheerful.”

But is it really true that being good makes you happy? Is it really true that being near God makes your heart contented? Mickey was a new boy at the Oratory of Don Bosco. He was a good athlete and he found great happiness in the playground. But one day, he avoided the playground. A friend came and asked him what was the matter? At first, he kept quiet. But later he told his friend that he was sad because envied them. His friend was surprised. “You envy us. But it is we who envy you. You are so good at games.” And Mickey answered, “I envy you because I am happy only when I play. After the games, I am not happy anymore. But all of you are still happy even games are over.” So his friend told him to go to Don Bosco because Don Bosco was very good at solving their problems.

So Mickey went to Don Bosco and poured out his problem. Don Bosco listened and gave this advice. “I want you to spend the whole day today examining your life. Tonight come to my office and make a good confession. I promise you that you will come out of my office very happy.”

And that was what Mickey did. When he left the office of Don Bosco, his friend who was waiting outside asked him why he was crying. Mickey wiped his tears and answered, “Because I feel so happy.”

JOY AND HAPPINESS AT CHRISTMAS

How do we make our Christmas a joyful and happy event?

1. Go to confession. The second reading says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I say it again, ‘Rejoice.’” We can experience joy in the Lord if we remove sin which sepa-rates us from him. Mickey experienced great joy after a good confession. Go to con-fession and be happy.

2. Make family and friends happy. Alan Robles observed that for Filipinos, hap-piness isn't material—it's social. We're happiest in the midst of family and friends. But that happiness will be multiplied when we make them happy. Give a helping hand around the house. Help in putting up Christmas decorations. Help in preparing the Noche Buena. Help in wrapping Christmas gifts. Prepare alternative gifts. Make family and friends happy and you will be happy twice over.

3. Make people outside the circle of your family and friends happy, too. Charity begins at home but should not end at home. You may want to give Christmas pack-ages to the beggars. Or you may want to pack assorted candies and give them to the children of the neighborhood. Or it might be as simple as giving food to a neighbor. Make other people happy and you, too, will be happy.

CONCLUSION

Your happiness this Christmas depends on the size of your heart. If your heart is so small that it can only accommodate yourself, then you won’t really be happy. Make it big, big enough to accommodate God, family and friends and others as well. Imagine how happy you’ll be.

Second Sunday of Advent (C)

Prepare the way of the Lord.

Lk 3:1-6

Prepare the way of the Lord. Level the valleys and hills so that the land be-comes a plain. Remove the twists and turns (zigzag) so that all roads are straight.
What do these mean? Ituwid ang pamumuhay. Isaayos ang buhay. Iwasto ang maling ugali. We are being asked to set our lives aright. In other words, we are being invited to a conversion.

CHOICE

How do we do this? Sin is basically making wrong choices. We have before us two choices: good and bad. We sin when we choose what is bad. Conversion then means making the right choices, making the correct decisions.

Let us illustrate this. I want Bunso to be removed from the Philippine Idol. I am a writer for the entertainment section of a newspaper. I write a column accusing the family and relatives of Bunso of buying votes so that Bunso will remain a contender. I sinned by writing a lie about another Bunso. My sin is the result of making a wrong choice. I had two choices. To write a lie and to not write a lie. I chose to write a lie. I made the wrong choice. I committed sin.

My conversion then will mean making the right choice from now onwards. As a writer for the entertainment industry, I will now choose the truth instead of choosing a lie.

VALUE SYSTEM

In order to consistently make the right choice, however, we must examine our value system and make the necessary changes. Our value system refers to the sum total of what we believe to be important.

The following are examples of elements that might be found in our value sys-tem: Right is might. It is better to cheat than to repeat. Wealth is more important than honor. Parents should bequeath to their children a good name and a good education. We must earn our keep by the sweat of our brow. You have no right to smoke until you earn the money for it. Ang pagkain ay biyaya mula sa Diyos. You must be willing to sacrifice yourself for your family. My spouse is an equal partner.

If you believe that wealth is more important than honor, would you be surprised at the wrong choices you will make in life?

Now you will understand why conversion must include changes in our value system.

A caution. We must be aware that the values that we SAY we hold might in fact be different from the values that we ACTUALLY LIVE BY. Therefore, when we examine our values, we must not base ourselves on what we say we value but on our behavior. Action speaks louder than words.

To illustrate again. I might say that I value God in my life. But let us examine our behavior. How often do I pray? The answer to that question is a more reliable indicator of whether I value God or not.

SOCIAL CONTEXT

The CBCP has proclaimed 2006 as the “Year of Social Concerns”. The CBCP is asking Filipino Catholics to a conversion in one element of our value system. For us Filipinos, charity begins at home and ends at home. The CBCP is asking us to transform this element into “charity begins at home and flows into the community”. In other words, we are asked not only to work for the good of our families but also for the good of the community at large, that is, for the common good.

Poverty is a real problem in our country. We can not pretend to be able to eradicate poverty in the Philippines. But we can do something about it.

1. If you are in business, work to expand that business. By expanding that business you will be able to provide employment. Employment will lift some families out of poverty. If you are not in business but have the talent for business, take the steps to open a business. Again you will provide employment.

2. If you work for a corporation, CSR is now a buzz word. CSR is corporate social responsibility. Volunteer to give your time to the CSR program of your company.

3. If you are a government official, you know that a big chunk of government money do not go to social services but to corruption. Imagine how the economy will grow if all the money go for what they were intended.

Social situations will not change by themselves. They will only change if we do something about them.

Once upon a time a man kept on complaining to God about the evil in the world. He said: “If you are God you must know about the bad things happening all over the world. Why aren’t you doing anything about it?” Finally God answered him, “But I’ve done something about the evil in the world.” The man retorted, “And what would that be?” And God, looking at him intently, replied: “I have created you.”

The problem is we expect everybody else, including God, to do something about the world, and yet we ourselves do nothing about it.

First Sunday of Advent (C)

And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Lk 21:25-28, 34-36

Advent is a time of preparation for two events. And that is why Advent is di-vided into two parts. The first part of Advent begins with the first Sunday of Advent and ends on December 16. In this first part, we prepare ourselves for the second coming of Christ at the end of time.
The second part of Advent begins on December 17 and ends on December 24. In the second part, we prepare ourselves for the celebration of Christmas which commemorates the first coming of Christ.

Advent is rich in themes. Here are some of them:
1. God keeps his promises. He promised a Messiah and he fulfilled that promise with the birth of Jesus. He promised to come again at the end of time. He will surely keep that promise, too.
2. The birth of Jesus reveals how much God loves us. The Father could have sent an angel to save us. He didn’t. He could also have raised an-other great human being to redeem us. He didn’t do that either. Instead he sent someone special, his only Son. He sent someone special because we are special to him.
3. The book of Genesis said that God has appointed us stewards of creation. Therefore, we have to take seriously our life here on earth. But we are not just meant to live on earth. A great destiny awaits us—heaven. One day Jesus will come again and bring us to live with him forever in heaven.
4. With the second coming of Christ, a great transformation will take place.

Jesus speaks about signs in the skies. Something will happen to the sun, to the moon, to the stars and to the planets. What does he want to say? These heavenly bodies will disappear because the old creation will have to give way to the new creation.

Jesus also speaks about disorder and disturbance. What does he want to say? Suppose you want to do a general clean up of the house. What will you do? You will move things here and there as you clean. As you are cleaning the house is in disorder. But afterwards the house is clean and in order. With the second coming of Christ, Jesus will bring a new order.

In other words, with the second coming of Christ everything will be perfected.

What are the implications of the coming of the new creation and a new order?

First, we need to be patient about our life here on earth. Our world is imperfect. Things can and will go wrong. Sin and evil will be there. Suffering will be part of our existence. But the time will come when sin, death and suffering will disappear and we shall always be happy and contented. But that will happen when Jesus comes again at the end of time. Meanwhile, we have to learn to live in this kind of world.

Second, it is true that we live in an imperfect world. But sometimes it is we who make our situation worse. Let’s talk about money. I have two examples.

First example. The wife goes to Hong Kong to work as a DH. She leaves behind husband and children. This is not a desirable situation. But this is an imperfect world. She sends money every month. After five years she gets sick and has to return home. What does she find back home? They still live in a rented house. And there are no savings. Why? The husband did not bother to find work. And with the monthly remittance of the wife assured, all they did was to spend the money. We live in an imperfect world, but we make our situation worse.

Second example. A farmer in Palawan. His income for the year is P40,000. At the end of the year, there is no money. Where did all the P40,000 go? If this farmer did not engage in gambling, in smoking, and in drinking, there would have been savings.

At the end of time, Christ will make all things new. The old creation will give way to the new creation. The old order, the old way of doing things will give way to a new order. But we don’t have to wait for the end of the world. We can and should do something about it now. How? By personal conversion and transformation.

And Advent with Lent are the two seasons of the year when we are invited to intensify that personal conversion and transformation. May I therefore suggest that as part of the Advent preparation we make a good confession and work on one point of personal conversion and transformation.

May God assist us in preparing ourselves spiritually for the coming solemnity of Christmas.

Christ the King (B)

My kingdom does not belong to this world.
(Jn 18:33b-37)

In a few weeks’ time we shall be celebrating Christmas. The prevailing mood of Christmas is one of joy. That is why Christmas carols are joyful. Is it any wonder that one Christmas carols goes this way? “Joy to the world. The Lord is come. Let earth receive her king.”
But we are so used to the joy of Christmas that we forget the possibility that the first Christmas was anything but joyful. Consider how desperate Joseph was looking for a place not for lodging but a place where Mary could give birth. In the end, Mary had to give birth in a place where no human ever gave birth—in a stable—because there was just no available space. A king born in a stable? Kings are born in palaces.

The King grew up in Nazareth, an insignificant place. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” was not just the opinion of Nathanael. It was a commonly held opinion. But kings do not grow up in obscure places. Prince William and Prince Harry certainly were not bundled off to one of the far-off islands of the United Kingdom.

At 30 years of age, the King became an NPA. No permanent address because he became an itinerant preacher. To one who wanted to follow him, Jesus said: “Foxes have lairs, birds of the air have nests. But the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” But kings are not homeless. They have palaces all over their kingdom. I heard one Filipino OFW who worked in Saudi Arabia. He was employed in the mainte-nance of the palaces of the Saudi King. He said that when the king was to stay in a particular palace, they had to go there a month ahead in order to prepare the palace for the king. Jesus had nowhere to lay his head.

At the age of 33, the King did not die peacefully in a royal bed. He did not die a glorious death while leading his army against the enemy. He died like hardened criminal—on the cross. When Pilate presented him as a king before the people, his crown was not of gold encrusted with precious jewels. It was a crown of thorns. His mantle was not made of ermine, trailing several feet long. It was the coarse mantle of a Roman soldier. His scepter was not made of gold either but was a reed with which the soldiers hit his head.

And when he died, he was buried in a tomb that was not his own. He was not born in his own home. He was not buried in his own grave.

If that was the end of the story, then the story of Jesus would have been a Greek tragedy. In a Greek tragedy the hero dies or is defeated at the end.

But the story of Jesus does not end with his death and burial. It continues with his resurrection and in fact, will go on until the end of time when Jesus returns as King of the Universe. The story of Jesus then is not a Greek tragedy, but a Greek comedy. In the Greek comedy, the hero is initially defeated but later recovers from his defeat to become victorious in the end. The ultimate victory of Jesus is what the Solemnity of Christ, the King, is all about.

But what does the victory of Jesus mean for us? The victory of Christ has some-thing in store for us for the future and for the present.

For the future. If we hold fast to Jesus, our story will also be a Greek comedy. No matter how bad, bleak or sad our past has been, no matter how terrible our pre-sent is, we know and sure what the future holds for us. We will rise to life and be with Jesus forever in heaven. And the ending of fairy tales will become a reality for us, “and they lived happily ever after.”

For the present. Because we are sure that in the end everything will turn out al-right, we are able face anything that life may throw at us. Consider this story. A man decided to bring his family to the countryside. He bought a farm which had been abandoned by its owner. The family was not thrilled by the change. One day they came to look at their future home. They entered the barn. There was fresh manure near the entrance. And they almost stepped on them. The reaction of everyone but the youngest was one of disgust. In contrast, the youngest got all excited and asked his dad, “Where’s the horse?”

Because we are sure that in the end everything will turn out alright, we are able to face anything that life may throw at us.

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory. (Mk 13:24-32)

"In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky.

The prediction by Jesus of the end of time (and with it, his second coming) and of the destruction of Jerusalem is so mixed up that sometimes it is difficult to know which prediction is about the destruction of Jerusalem and which one is about the end of time.

The other evangelists speak of the second coming as imminent. In fact, the destruction of Jerusalem seem to be the sign that it is about to happen. Luke, however, sets it at a later time after the destruction of Jerusalem which he calls the age of the gentiles.

The nearness of the second coming (Parousia, in Greek) was so widely believed among the early Christians that some of them stopped working. Why tire yourself when the end of time was just around the corner? The problem had become so pronounced that St. Paul had to write to the Thessalonians: “Let him who does not work, not eat.”

Nevertheless, Jesus insists that no one knows when the end of time will come: “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Hence, Jesus counsels vigilance.

The language used for the end of time is apocalyptic, that is, in terms of destruction of cosmic proportions Hence, Jesus speaks of fearful events involving the sun, the moon and the stars. For this reason fear is always associated with the end of time. This is unfortunate because the end of time is supposed to be a grand and glorious event as we read in the following verses.

And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds.

I would compare the Parousia to a grand and solemn event as the coronation of a monarch or the swearing in of a President. I would compare the gathering of the elect to a happy event such as a graduation or the oath-taking of new nurses.

But that is not all. The Parousia will also usher in new heavens and a new earth. The old will pass away. Everything will be transformed because all creation will be perfected. Our own bodies will be changed. We call it the resurrection of the dead. What happened to the body of Jesus at his resurrection will also happen to our bodies at the resurrection of the dead.

LESSON

As I have said, the Parousia (Second Coming), th end of time, and the end of the world should not be met with fear and trembling. For these events promise us that there will be a happy tomorrow awaiting us. They assure us that there is something to look forward to. They are a guarantee that no matter what happens, everything will turn out alright. For these reasons, the Second Coming, the end of time and the end of the world should be met with joyful expectation. They should give us hope.

We need hope. Without hope, it is impossible to survive.

During World War II, Viktor Frankl witnessed many prisoners rush to their death by purposely getting entangled in the electrified fence. These prisoners saw no end to their suffering. They gave up the possibility of being freed. They had lost hope.

A newspaper carried the report of a terminally-ill cancer patient leap out of the window of a government hospital. She couldn’t bear the pain anymore. She saw no chance of recovery. She had lost hope.

Filipino seamen were recently involved in mishap. Their ship sank in the cold waters of the Atlantic. Since not all of the survivors could fit in the life boats, some had to stay in the water while holding on to the side of the raft. One of them grew tired and told one of his companions who was on the raft that he could not longer hold on. This companion kept encouraging him. Later he told his companion who was on the raft: “Tell my wife and children that I love them.” And he let go. He had lost hope.

We need hope. Without hope, it is impossible to survive.

Let me share with you two quotes that have helped me go on when things turn out bad. They have helped me go on. They gave me hope.

1. God will not lead you where his grace can not keep you.
2. This too shall pass.

God will not lead you where his grace can not keep you. If God allowed this to happen to me, it is because he knows I can handle it. Why I should I despair? Why should I lose hope?

This too shall pass. This trial, this difficulty will not go on forever. Someday it will end. If I hold on long enough, I will survive. Therefore, why should give up? Why despair? Why lose hope?

Two frogs fell into a can of milk. The opening was too high. If the milk was solid, it would only take one jump for them to get out. But the milk was liquid. They kept on swimming, trying to think on how to get out. But after a while one frog gave up. There was no way out. He stopped swimming and drowned. But the other kept on swimming. “There must be a way out,” he kept on telling himself. And sure enough after hours of treading on the milk, the milk turned into butter. With a single bound, it leapt out of the can.

We need hope. Without hope, it is impossible to survive.

32 Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

This poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. (Mk 12:38-44)

A poor widow also came and put in two small coins.

The two small coins are called lepton in Greek. The lepton is the smallest denomination. The widow, therefore, was really poor.

It is also interesting to note that in Israel there are two kinds of persons that are often in dire straits: orphans and widows.

I remember a saying that goes this way: Give until it hurts. It hurt the widow to give even such a small sum.

What is Jesus teaching us today?

What value is he reminding us? I believe Jesus invites us to be generous with God, to be "bukas-palad" (literally, open hands). Nay, he is inviting us not only to be ready to give our "things" to him but more than that to surrender ourselves completely to him.

This reminds me of someone who said that the ability to give (and generosity for that matter) is a sign of maturity whereas selfishness is a sign of immaturity. To bring his point across he pointed to the baby. The baby is selfishness personified. When it is hungry, it will wail and won't stop until it is fed. Never mind that it's parents are tired and fast asleep. When it needs a change of diaper, it will cry its lungs out until its diaper is changed. It expects everyone to be at its beck and call. Notice the hands of the baby. They're closed. Its hands symbolize it's "selfishness".

But the baby's hands do not remain closed. As it grows older, its hands gradually open up. And that should be the natural development of human beings, too--from selfishness and self-centeredness to generosity and the ability to care for another.

How generous does God expect us to be? What degree of self-surrender does God demand from his disciples?

I remember many, many years ago I attended a retreat. Our retreat master was involved in the charismatic renewal. In the evenings he invited us to what we call now LSS (Life in the Spirit Seminar). The night before the last night of the retreat he invited us to undergo the baptism in the Holy Spirit (which others prefer to call release of the Holy Spirit in order to avoid confusing it with the Sacrament of Baptism). But he said that there was a very important requirement. We must be able to surrender ourselves completely to God. Concretely, he said we must be able to tell God and mean it: "Lord, if you want strike me blind now I am ready."

An advertisement for a bed says: I want 1/3 of your life. Jesus is not satisfied with that. He says: "I want 100% of you." Are we ready to give him that?

31th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Which is the first of all the commandments? (Mk 12:28b-34)

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?"

For the devout Jew all the commandments were to be kept with equal care, but there is evidence of preoccupation in Jewish sources with the question put to Jesus. Hillel summarized the whole law thus: “What you hate for yourself do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole law. The rest is commentary. Go and Learn.” Akiba had already taught: “Love your neighbor as yourself. This is the greatest, general principle of the Law.” Simon the Righteous for his part says: “On three things the world stands – on the Law, on the worship, and on the works of love.”

Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!” is the shema. It is the imperative of the verb “to hear”. It is the first word of the sentence. The shema is the creed of Judaism.

Islam has a counterpart, the Shahadah: “I testify that there is no god but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God.”

“With all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The love of God must engage the total person. This implies that our love for God can not be like that of platonic friendship, without feeling and without passion. Our feelings are important too because our feelings are part of us. And when I say feelings, I don’t mean sentimentality. To illustrate. St. Polycarp was a disciple of St. John. In his old age he was arrested and brought before the judge. This was the exchange between them. But when the magistrate pressed him hard and said, "Swear the oath, and I will release you; revile the Christ," Polycarp said, "Eighty-six years have I been His servant, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" There is feeling and passion here, but no sentimentality.

The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these."

Jesus goes beyond the extent of the question put to him. To the greatest and the first commandment he joins a second, that of love of neighbor (Lev 19:18). In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus explains what he meant by neighbor, that is, anyone who is in need even if he were an enemy is a neighbor and should be helped.

The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘And 'to love him with all your heart….and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

Parable of the Good Samaritan. The priest and the Levite did not come near the victim for fear that he might be dead. If they touched him, they would be rendered unclean and therefore would not be able to perform their duty of offering sacrifice and burnt offerings. But Jesus agres with the scribe when he says that it was more important to take care of the victim than worry about being unable to offer the temple sacrifices due to uncleanness.

Conclusion

For many it is perhaps easier to love God than a fellowman. After all, God doesn't step on your toes or irritate you with bad breath or body odor. It is perhaps why St. John considers the love of neighbor as the acid test for love of God. He says: “If anyone says, "I love God," but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1Jn 4:20)

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

"What do you want me to do for you?" (Mk 10:46-52)

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd...

The book of Joshua relates how Yahweh delivered Jericho into the hands of Israel.

And to Joshua the LORD said, "I have delivered Jericho and its king into your power. Have all the soldiers circle the city, marching once around it. Do this for six days, with seven priests carrying ram's horns ahead of the ark. On the seventh day march around the city seven times, and have the priests blow the horns. When they give a long blast on the ram's horns and you hear that signal, all the people shall shout aloud. The wall of the city will collapse, and they will be able to make a frontal attack."

"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."

By calling Jesus, son of David, Bartimaeus was publicly proclaiming his faith in Jesus as the Messiah. For the Messiah was expected to be from David's line. And in fact, Joseph was from David's line. Hence, when Augustus Caesar ordered a census of the Roman empire Joseph had to go to Bethlehem which was the city of David.

And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.

Bartimaeus was making a commotion. His behavior was almost scandalous. It was understandable that the told him to keep quiet.

But he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me."

Bartimaeus could not let the opportunity pass. It might never come back.

He threw aside his cloak.

The cloak was spread on the ground. Alms were thrown on the cloak. By throwing aside the cloak, it seems as if Bartimaeus was setting aside his life as a beggar in order to follow another way of life.

Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?"

This behavior of Jesus was perplexing to me. Why would he ask Bartimaeus that question? Was the answer not obvious? Surely Bartimaeus would not answer: "I want a house." A commentator offers this explanation: Jesus was giving him the chance to profess his faith publicly. By answering: "Master, I want to see", Bartimaeus was telling everyone that he believed Jesus had the power to give him his sight.

In the same way when we pray, we do not inform God. He already knows what we are going to ask for. When we pray we are expressing our faith in the power and goodness of God.

Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Immediately he received his sight.

We need faith if God is able to give us the good things he wants to give us.

And followed him on the way.

Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak because he no longer had need of it. He was not going to go begging anymore. From now on he was going to be a follower of Jesus.